Murder at the
Jubilee Rally: A Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames opens with many
of the locals less than thrilled with the coming event featuring motorcycle
folks from all over. Some want the entire town closed for business during the
Jubilee Motorcycle Rally. They want to force those attending to go over to
Bobtail, another small town about ten miles away, to do their shopping. The
theory being shutting down everything will keep the bikes and their noise out
of the town.
Of course, the small business folks who
need the money from the out of towners hate the idea as do the locals who do
not want to be inconvenienced. Folks are very heated on both sides of the
issue. The town meeting causes some folks to say things that would have been
better left unsaid. Thanks to Police Chief Samuel Craddock and a couple of
others, a compromise is worked out, where some businesses have an early curfew
while others do not.
Soon the rally is underway, the compromise
is working well, and things at the rally which draws hundreds of folks from all
over the state of Texas and beyond are going okay. That is until a murder
happens.
A murder that makes things way more
complicated as Craddock and his team have been trying to keep things calm at
the rally and in town. Not that ever having a murder is a good thing, but the
timing right now is really bad, and not just because of the local event.
Craddock is also dealing with a serious
family problem as his niece Hailey is giving her parents fits. The little girl
he remembers is not the child she was if her parents are right about everything
that is going on with her. The teen years can be ugly and things are ugly. Sixteen
and acting out with alcohol, possibly using drugs, and sneaking out to see an
older guy are just part of it. She is acting up at school too and her grades
are falling. Things are so bad her parents are thinking of sending her to a boarding
school for troubled kids.
Hailey and Samuel used to get along
pretty well and she liked to watch the cows Samuel has and spend time with him.
He offers for her to come stay a few days to give everyone a break. Samuel believes
that if things get difficult, he can get advice and help from his lady friend, Wendy,
as she has raised two girls and survived the teen wars. Before long, Hailey is
in the house. The bad thing is, trouble in more than one form, followed her
from Austin.
Between the murder of a local business
owner, Hailey’s antics, and other things, there is no rest for a good lawman. Samuel
Craddock and his patience is put to the test constantly through this read. Drama
and trouble, on and off the job, power Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A
Samuel Craddock Mystery by Terry Shames as does the summer time Texas heat
and humidity.
If you have not acquainted yourself with
the series, you should, and you could safely start here as references to prior
events/books are limited. If you are a reader of the series that began long ago
with A
Killing at Cotton Hill: A Samuel Craddock Mystery then you know you
are in for another fun read as author Terry
Shames does not disappoint with Murder at the Jubilee Rally: A Samuel
Craddock Mystery.
While the book came out today, I was able to skip the library wait and read it during the last week of July thanks to a digital ARC from them through NetGalley.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2022
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